Cities with scarce housing across the county are grappling with how to regulate short-term rental businesses like Airbnb. Eugene City Council this week moved to create an advisory committee for further guidance.
For now, short-term rental hosts don’t need a business license to operate within the city, but they do pay hotel room taxes. One concern is whether more regulations could harm a growing source of income for local renters. Councilor Chris Pryor called for more balance and research.
“There needs to be some level of regulation just to make sure we’re doing our due diligence. But what that level needs to be, has got to be based on facts. And at this point I don’t have enough facts to really know how many of these are needed, are configured the way they should be configured, or are there other additional mechanisms that could be used to help make this better than it could be," Pryor said.
Councilors opted to create a committee to gather more info. The measure was introduced by Councilor Claire Syrett. The final vote was 7-1, with Councilor Betty Taylor voted against the measure. Taylor suggested the city was moving too slow on implementing regulations.
Airbnb recently listed Eugene as a top destination for 2020. The company also stated in a release that hosts earned a combined total of $685,800 in supplemental income during University of Oregon football games this season.
